“Then what else do you see?”
Joi was curious. It was her way of asking why he was so intrigued with her. Aside from a few lewd comments, he hadn’t touched or handled her inappropriately. Their situation had basically disproved her previous point, but she wouldn’t dare state it. The idea made her feel special, and she wouldn’t dare relinquish that feeling, not until she had to.
“That’s a trick question.”
East grinned and raked his hand over his head. He had no idea why the conversation had him nervous, but it did. Maybe itwas that he knew that being truthful would force him to admit he was feeling Joi in ways he wasn’t accustomed to.
“How so?” Her brows hiked while she waited.
“Because everything I see about you is physical. If I explain it, you’ll write it off as sex, but it’s not.”
Joi’s heart rate increased while she tossed around her next response. She was playing it cool, but internally, she was exploding like fireworks. “Maybe I won’t. Try me.”
East chuckled again and nodded. “I see your skin. You’re tatted, and even though those shits are girly as fuck, they’re still sexy and add another level to you. I have to fight the urge to touch you because it makes me want to explore all of you.”
East briefly dropped his head to get his smile under control. It surfaced because he felt like a weak ass man who was trying to cake with a woman who was out of his league. Spitting sweet shit he knew she wanted to hear, just to leverage better positioning to fuck her. That wasn’t the case. East knew he could have Joi. He could likely fuck her right now, in the restaurant full of people, so that wasn’t his motivation.Shewas his motivation, everything about her, and that’s what had him smiling.This shit is new. The fuck is wrong with me?
“And that’s not about sex?”
“Nah, it’s not. It’s just the truth. A man can explore a woman’s body without fucking her. That’s your nasty ass taking it there.”
“Says the man who wanted me to hurry so he could feed me and then maybe I would feed him,” Joi repeated, referring to his comment from earlier.
East chuckled and nodded before his eyes swept her body again. “Are you going to? I bet I could be between your legs for hours and never get enough?”
And I don’t even eat pussy.
“East!” Joi’s voice elevated as her eyes darted around, checking the few tables near them. Two older white couples were to the right but with two empty tables separating them on each side.
“The fuck you looking at them for? They don’t give a shit about me eating your pussy. Well, past the fact that she wants him to eat hers, but he likely won’t do it or do it right if he tried.”
“Oh my God, would you shut up?” Joi hissed.
East could see her face burning as she adjusted in her seat. He was having a similar reaction but was able to manage it better than she was.
“Aight, I’ma chill. What about your family? You said your aunt owns the apartment you live in. Y’all must be close. What about your parents?”
Joi’s eyes saddened and East saw something shift. “They’re not here. My aunt is my mom’s sister, and she raised me kinda. My parents died when I was twelve.”
“Damn. Shit, my bad.”
“It’s cool. I love them, I miss them, but they’re not here. You didn’t know, so don’t feel bad.”
East did, however, feel bad because he saw how much it affected her. His father could die at any second, and he wouldn’t feel one way or another, but his mother, his rock, if he lost her, East wasn’t sure how he would survive. She was all he had.
“Ay, if you’re gonna waste my money then let’s ride.”
East didn’t do emotional shit very well, so he wanted an out. He also wanted to change the course of the conversation because he was craving the blessing of her pretty smile.
“Are you gonna be mad?”
Joi had stuffed herself with bread and the appetizer they ordered before her food arrived. That, combined with the anxiety of being around East, had killed her ability to eat. Joiwas ready to leave too but didn’t want to seem rude or ungrateful about the money he spent on her meal.
“Nah, not mad, but you’re in debt again. A place I see you like being with me.” He winked at Joi then signaled for their server.
After settling the bill, the two left and made the short drive to her building. Once he parked, East shut his car off and turned his head to give Joi his attention. He could sense she was anxious, which showed in her pretty brown eyes. He kept his expression neutral while she bit back a smile.
“You good over there?” East lifted his hand and lowered it onto Joi’s thigh then began to move his thumb in a slow, steady motion across her skin.
